DH and I were watching TV the other day and a commercial for Amway came on. I didn't even know they had commercials!

Anyway, I said this was a hugh scam and DH disagreed with me. He said "It's a good way to make loads of money" I informed him it was an MLM and he said "Yeah, I know...but you can still make good money at it"

bionelly

DH and I were watching TV the other day and a commercial for Amway came on. I didn't even know they had commercials!

Anyway, I said this was a hugh scam and DH disagreed with me. He said "It's a good way to make loads of money" I informed him it was an MLM and he said "Yeah, I know...but you can still make good money at it"

I seriously hope he never gets caught by one of these guys.

Ginger

DH has a coworker who swears that not only are MLMs an excellent way to make money, the whole group can make money without anybody ever selling anything, just from recruiting people. After all, you make money from the people you recruit, and from the people they recruit, and they all make money the same way, so why should any of them ever have to actually make a sale? He really doesn't understand that the money you're making from recruits comes, at some point, from a customer buying a product. He tried to recruit DH by telling him it wouldn't involve any selling, using this line of "logic".

DH has a coworker who swears that not only are MLMs an excellent way to make money, the whole group can make money without anybody ever selling anything, just from recruiting people. After all, you make money from the people you recruit, and from the people they recruit, and they all make money the same way, so why should any of them ever have to actually make a sale? He really doesn't understand that the money you're making from recruits comes, at some point, from a customer buying a product. He tried to recruit DH by telling him it wouldn't involve any selling, using this line of "logic".

The money often doesn't come from an end-user purchasing the product. In Mary Kay, for example, the recruiter makes money on what her downline purchases. It doesn't matter if those products ever reach an end-user. That's why unit leaders and directors encourage their consultants to buy inventory ("You can't sell from an empty store!") and also why Mary Kay changes it's product line and design so often. They make money off the backs of the people who shell out money for their own inventory, and when it bottoms out, they're the ones holding the bag with a bunch of often unsellable and/or obsolete product. This is also why you see some people trying to unload their product at garage sales and eBay.

Some people DO make money from Amway (my husband and I know a couple who do, but we have told them in no uncertain terms that we will never join the company nor buy the products), but for every big money maker, there are plenty of people left with nothing, or worse, a pile of debt.

A couple years ago I dated this guy Ray. He got involved in one of these business deals (he has since left, which is a relief - that time was scary). It was a long distance relationship, and I never saw him often. But he knew that business deals and such were off limits to me.

Anyway, he, Kay and Jay went to a bar one night. All three were in the business cult o' death and working in relatively close capacity in some way or another... They see two attractive ladies standing at the bar and decided to strike up conversation.

Jay: Hi ladies! Ladies: Hi!*insert chit chat here*#1: We're waiting on some people...Jay: Oh yeah? #2: You could call them clients...Jay: *eyes growing big at the sight of perfect business opportunity* Oh yeah? You guys are in a business?Ladies: *giggles* Something like that...

Jay then proceeds to take out his business card and quote from the BCOD Bible Chapter 10, titled Awkward Situations and Why You'll Never Get Any... But That's Okay Because You'll Be Rich. Luckily, Ray had enough sense to grab Jay and explain that these women were escorts.

Logged

asta

My folks (outta their pure greed, imho) got taken by their "Christian" church. Preacher Man found this dude who was building "Christian homes," where churchin' investors would recieve a huge return on their $20,000 investment. This was about 15 years ago.

Everybody on the bandwagon!! This "builder" held "investment" meetings in the church, etc. Where about 2/3 of the congregation gave to this guy. Well, wouldn't 'ya know it - those churchin homes never got built and this "fine Christian man" disappeared with about half a mil.

What the builder did was encourage the congregation to tell all their friends how they could make an exhorbitant amount of $ on this.

BTW, my mother would risk getting hit by a bus to pick up a nickel. She also drags poor dad to every free meal, trip, seminar, where he just turns off his hearing aid. They're so cheap, they're embarrassing. After they lost the $20,000, my mother (whose never wrong or makes mistakes) just said it was the Lord's will.

Two years ago I was visiting a friend in Australia. A friend of his asked us to come over for BBQ and then a "presentation". He didn't disguise it was going to be for something, but we got over there early enough to play some pool, eat dinner, then sit down and chat before another friend of his and "Bob" showed up.

It was for some sort of phone service. I just sat there thinking "how the heck would this really work?" to get friends and family to sign up for it. You sign up your cell and landline and apparently make and save money, too. His friend bought into it, but my friend didn't. "Bob" asked me if I was interested and I just looked at him and opened my mouth for the first time - "I'm just here visiting from the States." "Bob" left me alone after that. But I did spend the presentation thinking longingly of the pool table.

I've had family members get sucked into the MLM stuff and some try to suck us in as well. While I was away at college, my brother bought into Amway. I came home for break one year and there was all this Amway stuff and people saying "Don't ask".

My aunt bought into Shaklee. My gma, otoh, bought into their philosophy. Yeah, I understand that their stuff breaks down easier and you do need certain vitamins and stuff. But I could not STOMACH taking 24 Alfalfa pills a day. I still bought the Multi-Vit from her though. When I was pregnant with DD my doc said that was just as good as any prenatal she could prescribe for me, and didn't have the added bonus of containing something that made my colon stress.

So a few years ago same Aunt invited us over to a friend's house for a party. My cousins watched DS while we went with her. It was... Quixtar. "No, this isn't Amway" we were told... We bought into it on the "trial" thing to see what it was like. Found a few things that weren't overpriced. [One of which died 16 months later after the warranty expired.] I didn't even bother to cash the $2 check that came in the mail.

Last year I went to New Zealand and stayed with a friend of mine. He was a seller for Usana. Let me try some of the stuff he had (they have a great citrus shower gel). Tried to sell me a bit more, but I wasn't going for it. I'm really picky in my personal products - I have scent allergies and sensitivities. He did send me home with a bottle of the shower gel (for free). After I got home he tried to convince me to sign up for a buyer's account so I could get that shower gel discounted ($30/bottle. yikes), but he suddenly stopped. He'd decided to cancel his own account.

Same friend, while we were driving back from Rotorua to Auckland stuck one of those promotional tapes. He apologized for putting it in as he put it in. It was about some pharmaceutical benefits from some herbs and stuff. Initially it made me think, had some interesting info, then my eyes glazed over. He noticed & turned it off. He never mentioned it again.

Same friend was going to some self-improvement seminars. I can't remember the name of the company (they do incorporate oriental warriors into their "thing") but he had to have spent about $10k US on the seminars. Not to mention lodging and transportation, as most were not in NZ (Surfer's Paradise, LA...) For awhile he really pushed them on me. "If you can't manage a weekend, go to their 3 hour seminar". Thing is, their seminars would go from 3 hrs, to 3 days, to 1 week...

It was during one of them he was relaying his experiences. My opinion was, that if you want to do "good work", you don't have to pay $2k for a seminar that takes you out to hand out lunches. There were apparently other sorts of things they did, mostly bonding stuff, and one instance where there wasn't a dry eye in the room, talking about personal things. Sorry, I cannot even conceive of going up in front of strangers and airing my skeletons. I'll go talk to my shrink for that...

I can't really say if it changed his life much, or me flying out to hang out with him for 2 weeks did. Shortly after I left he started looking into leaving his solitary man-life.